Building insulation with decorative facing

ABSTRACT

Building insulation comprising a strip of fibrous blanket with a facing sheet secured thereto, the facing sheet having nailing flanges or lip portions projecting beyond the side edges of the blanket strip to provide for mounting of the insulation upon spaced studs or other supports and further having a decorative pattern extended throughout a portion of the area of the sheet, the decoration being extended over one of the projecting lips, but the other projecting lip being undecorated and carrying name and/or instruction indicia.

United States Patent [1 1 Hofimann, Jr.

BUILDING INSULATION WITH DECORATIVE FACING Inventor: George A. Hoffmann, Jr., Wayne,

Certain-Feed Products Corporation, Valley Forge, Pa.

Filed: Dec. 14, 1972 Appl. No.: 315,015

Related US. Application Data Continuation of Ser. No. 106,084, Jan. 13, 1971, abandoned.

Assignee:

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS I-lerscovitz Finck Sept. 17, 1974 2,263,201 11/1941 Wheeler et a1. 52/406 X 2,335,220 ll/1943 Edwards 52/406 X 2,342,839 2/1944 Byers 52/406 2,913,104 ll/1959 Parker 52/406 2,998,337 8/1961 Tillotson 52/406 3,012,603 12/1961 Newsome 52/406 3,035,374 5/1962 Allen 52/408 X Primary ExaminerJohn E. Murtagh Attorney, Agent, or Firm synnestvedt & Lechner [57] ABSTRACT Building insulation comprising a strip of fibrous blanket with a facing sheet secured thereto, the facing sheet having nailing flanges or lip portions projecting beyond the side edges of the blanket strip to provide for mounting of the insulation upon spaced studs or other supports and further having a decorative pattern extended throughout a portion of the area of the sheet, the decoration being extended over one of the projecting lips, but the other projecting lip being undecorated and carrying name and/or instruction indicia.

8 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PAIENIEU SEP 1 11914 saw 1 or 4 iNVENIOR. 550%? 4 P Wm; 7/2.

ATTORNEYS mcmmscm 3.835.604

I sum 3 or 4 INVENTOR. 650K625 A. wFFMA/m Jv. BY

2% A ATTORNEYJ PATENTEDSEP 1 11914 SHEET h 0F 4 INVENTOR. 6315624965 A afiz/WW4; JQ

BY zgw ATTORNEYS BUILDING INSULATION WITH DECORATIVE FACING This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 106,084, filed Jan. 13, 1971, now abandoned.

This invention relates to building insulation of the type embodying a strip of fibrous blanket and a facing sheet having edge or lip portions projecting beyond the blanket edges. This general type of insulation material is well known and is extensively used in the insulation of houses and buildings.

The facing sheet serves as a vapor barrier and the projecting lips at the edges of the facing sheet are commonly employed for the purpose of mounting the insulation between spaced supports, such as wall studs, and in such mounting the insulation may be applied in either one or two ways, as follows. In one type of application, referred to as flush application, the projecting lips overlie the spaced studs and are secured thereto, as by stapling. In this type of installation the projecting lip at one edge of one piece of the insulation overlaps the projecting lip of an adjoining piece of the insulation, this overlap being carried out serially throughout the entire area being insulated. In the other type of application, known as recessed application, the insulation is positioned farther inboard between the adjoining studs, and the projecting lips are bent or folded into planes at right angles to the mean plane of the wall and are secured, as by stapling to the side faces of the studs presented toward each other at opposite sides of the space into which the insulation is inserted.

In building insulation of the kind referred to the facing sheet or web is commonly formed of paper, such as Kraft paper or a paper carrying an aluminum foil, and it is quite customary that the exposed surface of the facing sheet be marked at intervals with the manufacturers name or with instructions, advertising material or other indicia. The markings and other indicia referred to are commonly distributed over much of the exposed area of the facing sheet, and in consequence the facing sheet of the prior insulation has presented an appearance which is anything but aesthetic, being at least commercial and frequently quite ugly.

It is a principal objective of the present invention to provide building insulation of the general kind referred to with a facing sheet having a decorative pattern, so that the installed appearance of the insulation is aesthetic or attractive. Indeed it is contemplated that the facing sheet have a decorative pattern of such character that it will itself provide a wall or ceiling decoration, in view of which, in at least many installations it is not necessary to apply any additional wall covering material, such as wall board or paper or other finishes commonly employed over building insulation.

While accomplishing the general objective referred to above, at the same time the invention preferably also contemplates that the facing sheet of the insulation be provided with an undecorated marginal portion, for instance an undecorated lip projecting beyond the insulation at one side thereof on which indicia may be applied identifying the manufacturer or providing installation instructions. With such an undecorated lip carrying such indicia at one side of the insulation, and with the decorative pattern extended at the other side of the insulation all the way to the free edge of the projecting lip at such other side, the indicia on the undecorated lip may at the time of application or installation be covered over by an overlap of the decorated lip of one piece of the insulation over the undecorated lip of an adjoining piece of insulation, thereby providing for complete covering of a wall or ceiling with the decorative pattern.

It is a further objective of the present invention to utilize as the decoration of the facing sheet a decorative pattern made up of a multiplicity of pattern areas having at least some random visual effect with a tendency to conceal the overlapped lip joints of adjoining pieces of the insulation regardless of the relative positions of the adjoining pieces at the lip joints. With the type of decorative pattern referred to the overlapped lip joints are so diminished in prominence that in effect they are virtually obliterated.

How the foregoing and other objects and advantages are attained will appear more fully from the following description referring to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a piece of insulation made in accordance with the present invention and illustrating the manner of folding the marginal portions of the facing sheet so as to form the desired projecting lips, the area of the decorative pattern on the facing sheet being diagrammatically indicated in this figure by simple cross lining;

FIG. la is a view of a corner portion of the piece of insulation shown in FIG. 1 but illustrating the position of one of the marginal lips as folded for packaging or shipment of the insulation;

FIG. 2 is a face view of a facing sheet for insulation of one standard size and dimensionally indicating the location of the area having the decorative pattern and further illustrating the location of the lines of fold used in forming the projecting lips at the edges of the sheet;

FIG. 3 is an isometric view of several pieces of insulation as applied to a wall in the flush type of mounting;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion of the wall shown in FIG. 3 and particularly illustrating overlap of the projecting lips of adjoining pieces of insulation;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged face view of a pattern usable according to the invention, this view showing a portion of the pattern lying within the line 5 a applied to FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a transverse sectional view through a pair of spaced supports and a piece of the insulation of the invention applied thereto in a recessed mounting.

As above indicated, the insulation according to the present invention is preferably made up of a strip of f1- brous blanket or fibrous mat such as indicated at 7. A facing sheet indicated in general by the letter S is applied to one side of the blanket strip 7, the facing sheet and blanket being secured together by some adhesive, for instance an asphalt type of adhesive, as is well known practice in this art. The blanket strip is positioned midway between the side edges of the facing sheet, as clearly appears in the drawings.

Although insulation according to the present invention may be made in a variety of widths, for instance any of the widths commonly employed for the spacing of wall or ceiling supports, a typical and perhaps most frequently used width is that employed for application of insulation to a wall having studs, for instance wooden 2 X 4s spaced on 16 inch centers. The width dimensions of the blanket strip and also the facing sheet will of course be varied in accordance with the particular size of the insulation, but in the drawings and in this description dimensions are given as they would be employed in the insulation for application to a wall having studs on 16 inch centers.

In FIG. 2 the full width of the facing sheet employed is indicated as 19 /2 inches, and the width of the fibrous blanket strip is indicated as 15 inches, this latter dimension being shown between the lines 8 and 9 representing the edges of the blanket strip.

Lines 10 and 11 on FIG. 2 represent fold lines. Thus, for example, line 11 represents the line upon which the outer edge portion 12 of the sheet is folded down and under the portion indicated at 13 (see also FIG. 1). A similar fold of the edge portion 14 about the line 10 occurs so as to bring that edge portion below the portion 15.

In the manufacture of the insulation, the folded edge portions at opposite sides of the facing strip are adhesively secured to each other, as by an asphalt adhesive, so that each edge portion comprises a double thickness lip projecting at opposite edges of the blanket strip and utilized for mounting purposes. When the insulation is packaged and shipped, both of the projecting lips are commonly folded up and over the edge portions of the blanket strip in the manner indicated in FIG. la, this folding occurring at fold or crease lines in the positions indicated at 8 and 9. In a typical embodiment, the fold lines for the edge portions of the facing sheet at opposite sides are spaced from each other 1 /8 inches, as is indicated in FIG. 2, thereby forming a double thickness lip of that same dimension.

With further reference to FIG. 2, it is now pointed out that the decorative pattern, which is indicated diagrammatically by cross lining, extends throughout the area from the line 9 lying along one side of the blanket strip across the central portion of the facing sheet and also across the portion 15 of the folded lip at the opposite side, the pattern preferably being carried even beyond the fold line 10, for instance to the line indicated at 16 which is about inch outboard of the fold line 10, so that the total width of the decorative pattern is about 16% inches, as is indicated in FIG. 2. This assures the presence of decorative pattern all the way to the extremity of the lip 14-15, even in the event of minor inaccuracies in decorating and/or folding operations occurring in manufacture. This is of importance for the purpose of ensuring continuity of the pattern decoration at the overlapped joints between adjoining pieces of the insulation when applied or installed.

From FIGS. 1, la and 2 it will also be seen that there are undecorated marginal or lip surfaces at both sides of the product, although these are differently arranged at the two sides. Thus, at the right hand side as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 2, indicia is applied between the fold lines 9 and 11, Le, on the undecorated area 13. In a typical case, such indicia may include the manufacturers name, for instance CERTAIN-TIRED SAINT GO- BAIN INSULATION CORP. 1970. This same area may further include installation instructions, such as APPLY THIS VAPOR BARRIER SIDE TOWARD LIVING SPACE. With these indicia located as just described, when the lip at the right hand side is formed by folding the area 12 down under the area 13, the indicia will appear at the exposed surface of the facing sheet.

At the other side of the product, indicia may be applied between the line 16 (representing the edge of the pattern) and the extreme edge of the facing sheet. For instance this space may carry trade mark and product identification, such as CSG FIBER GLASS BUILD- ING INSULATION. Similarly this same area may carry installation instructions, such as APPLY THIS VAPOR BARRIER SIDE TOWARD LIVING SPACE. In this instance, since the indicia are applied to the area 14, when the edge lip is formed by folding the area 14 under the area 15, the indicia at that side will be presented at the underside of the lip when the lip is extended in the general plane of the facing sheet, although when the lip is folded up over the insulation for packaging or shipment, as in FIG. 1a, the indicia at that side will be visible at the topside. Conversely, at the opposite side, when the lip is folded up over the insulation, the indicia will be concealed.

In any event. regardless of the position of folding of the edge lips, the installation instructions and some identification will always appear at one side of the insulation or the other. However, upon application of the insulation in flush mounting, as in FIGS. 3 and 4, all indicia will be concealed and nothing but the pattern will be displayed to the interior of the insulated room.

In FIGS. 3 and 4 spaced studs are indicated at 17, and pieces or strips of the insulation are shown as being flush mounted between the studs, with the double thickness edge lips stapled to the inner edges of the studs. When these strips of insulation are applied, for instance beginning at the left hand side of FIG. 3 and proceeding toward the right, the decorated lip area 15 of each succeeding piece of insulation installed will overlie the undecorated indicia-bearing lip portion 13 of the previously applied strip of insulation, this overlap being well illustrated in the enlarged view of FIG. 4.

With studs spaced on 16 inch centers, and with di mensions such as illustrated in FIG. 2 and described above, the decorated lip area 15 will overlie and conceal the undecorated indicia-bearing lip area 13, thereby providing continuity of the decorative pattern throughout the entire wall surface.

As above indicated, it is preferred to employ a type of pattern which will give an overall pattern effect without marked interruption at the overlapped joints, regardless of the relative positions of the lip areas at the joints. This is achieved by employment of a pattern which may be described as one made up of a multiplicity of pattern areas having some random visual effect, as in the texture of certain fabrics and in certain other woven materials, for instance basket weave of wood strips, raffia, or the like. A pattern simulating a basket weave of wood strips is highly effective for this purpose and is illustrated in FIG. 5 by way of example. Here it will be seen that the pattern effect is not substantially impaired notwithstanding the fact that the two overlapped portions of the pattern at the joint are not in pattern registry with each other. Because of this, it will be seen that the employment of a pattern made up of a multiplicity of pattern areas having a random visual characteristic results in substantial obliteration of the overlapped lip joints of adjoining pieces of the insulation.

The insulation is also capable of being applied in the well known recessed type of application or mounting which is illustrated in FIG. 6. Here a pair of spaced supports or studs are also indicated by the numeral 17, but

instead of having the projecting lips of the facing sheet overlie the inner edges of the studs, the lips are positioned in planesparalleling the opposing side faces of the studs and the insulation and facing strips are inserted between the studs to an extent sufficient to permit fastening as by staples to the said opposed side faces of the studs. In this type of installation, the pattern will span the space between the studs and will also be visible on the surface of the lip area at one side, although the indicia or other information applied to the surface 13 at the other side will be visible from some angles.

Insulation according to the present invention may be made up with any of a variety of facing sheets including not only the commonly utilized Kraft paper, but also vinyl resin coated or other resin coated papers, or paper carrying aluminum foil for purposes of heat reflection. The facing sheet may if desired be formed entirely of an aluminum sheet or may be formed entirely of a resin material. In the case of use of paper, printing operations are typical for the purpose of applying the decoration, and printing may also be utilized when the facing sheet is formed of various of the other materials mentioned. If desired the pattern may be applied by means of embossing, either with or without the presence of printing, for instance in the case of an aluminum facing sheet, the sheet may be embossed in a desired pattern.

The insulation of the present invention is especially desirable and advantageous in situations where the functions of thermal insulation and decoration are both provided by the single operation of applying the decorative insulation. However, even in installations where wall board or other surface coverings are contemplated, the insulation of the present invention is desirable and advantageous because of its attractive appearance even during building construction. Frequently rooms of houses are inspected by potential tenants and the inspection of such rooms having the insulation of the invention will give a more accurate impression of room size and character, than is obtainable by inspection of rooms in which the wall surfaces are not in any way decorated, but may even be quite unattractive or ugly.

I claim:

1. Building insulation comprising a strip of fibrous blanket with a facing sheet secured thereto, the facing sheet having edge lips projecting beyond the opposite edges of the fibrous blanket strip and adapted to form overlapped joints with similar edge lips of adjoining pieces of such insulation when the insulation is flush mounted on spaced supports, the outer face of the facing sheet having a decorative surface pattern extended throughout the area thereof overlying the fibrous blanket strip but terminating at a line adjacent the edge of the blanket strip adjacent one of the edge lips so as to leave an area of the outer face of said one edge lip free of said decorative pattern, and indicia on said free lip area, the decorative pattern being extended over the outer face of the other edge lip so that when said other edge lip overlaps an indicia-bearing edge lip of another piece of the insulation the decorative pattern of the insulation is continued over the joint of the overlap.

2. Building insulation as defined in claim 1 in which the edge lip of the facing sheet over which the decorative pattern is extended is formed of at least two plies of the facing sheet folded along the free edge of said lip,

the decorative pattern further being extended around said folded free edge.

3. Building insulation as defined in claim 1 in which the decorative pattern is made up of a multiplicity of pattern areas having a random visual effect providing substantial obliteration of overlapped lip joints of adjoining pieces of the insulation regardless of the relative positions of adjoining pieces.

4. Building insulation comprising a strip of fibrous blanket and a facing sheet comprising a web of width greater than that of the fibrous blanket strip, the blanket strip being secured to the facing sheet in the mid region thereof, the web having a decorative pattern extended over the face of the facing sheet opposite to that on which the fibrous blanket strip is secured, the decorative pattern extending throughout an area between a line adjacent a first edge of the blanket strip and a line spaced outboard of the second edge of the blanket strip but said decorative pattern being terminated at said lines to leave strip edge areas at both edges of the web free of said decorative pattern, and indicia relating to use of the insulation, the indicia being located in both of said free areas, the outer portions of the edges of the facing sheet being folded under inner portions thereof to provide double thickness lips projecting beyond the edges of the fibrous blanket strip, the line of fold toward one edge of the web being located outboard of the indicia at that side and the line of fold toward the other edge of the web being located inboard of the indicia at that side, so that the indicia on one edge lipis visible at one face of the edge lip and the indicia on the other edge lip is visible at the other face of the lip.

5. Building insulation as defined in claim 4 in which the line of fold toward the edge of the web on which the decorative pattern extends beyond the edge of the fibrous blanket strip is located within the area of the decorative pattern.

6. Building insulation as defined in claim 4 in which the projecting lips also have fold creases along lines adjacent to both side edges of the fibrous blanket strip.

7. Insulation for a living space of a building, comprising a strip of fibrous blanket having a vapor shield or barrier sheet secured to one face thereof, the barrier sheet having a decorative surface pattern on the exposed surface thereof and having edge lips projecting beyond the opposite edges of the fibrous blanket strip adapted to form overlapped joints with similar edge lips of adjoining pieces of such insulation, thereby providing for concurrent insultation, vapor shielding and decoration of the living space when the insulation is flush mounted on spaced supports with the barrier sheet presented toward the living space, the decorative surface pattern being made up of a multiplicity of pattern areas having random .visual effect and said pattern areas being extended throughout the area of the barrier sheet overlying the fibrous blanket strip and overlying at least one of the edge lips so that the random visual effect of the pattern decoration will be continued over the overlapped joints of adjoining pieces of such insulation regardless of the relative positions of adjoining pieces.

8. Insulation for a living space of a building, comprising a strip of fibrous blanket having a vapor shield or barrier sheet secured to one face thereof, the barrier sheet having a decorative surface pattern on the exposed surface thereof and having edge lips projecting beyond the opposite edges of the fibrous blanket strip adapted to form overlapped joints with similar edge lips of adjoining pieces of such insulation, thereby providing for concurrent insulation, vapor shielding and decoration of the living space when the insulation is flush mounted on spaced supports with the barrier sheet presented toward the living space, the decorative surface pattern being extended from the free edge of one edge lip over that lip and throughout the area of the barrier sheet overlying the fibrous blanket strip to a line adjacent the inner edge of the other edge lip and being terminated at said line to leave an area of the outer surface of said other edge lip free of said decoraof the insulation. 

1. Building insulation comprising a strip of fibrous blanket with a facing sheet secured thereto, the facing sheet having edge lips projecting beyond the opposite edges of the fibrous blanket strip and adapted to form overlapped joints with similar edge lips of adjoining pieces of such insulation when the insulation is flush mounted on spaced supports, the outer face of the facing sheet having a decorative surface pattern extended throughout the area thereof overlying the fibrous blanket strip but terminating at a line adjacent the edge of the blanket strip adjacent one of the edge lips so as to leave an area of the outer face of said one edge lip free of said decorative pattern, and indicia on said free lip area, the decorative pattern being extended over the outer face of the other edge lip so that when said other edge lip overlaps an indicia-bearing edge lip of another piece of the insulation the decorative pattern of the insulation is continued over the joint of the overlap.
 2. Building insulation as defined in claim 1 in which the edge lip of the facing sheet over which the decorative pattern is extended is formed of at least two plies of the facing sheet folded along the free edge of said lip, the decorative pattern further being extended around said folded free edge.
 3. Building insulation as defined in claim 1 in which the decorative pattern is made up of a multiplicity of pattern areas having a random visual effect providing substantial obliteration of overlapped lip joints of adjoining pieces of the insulation regardless of the relative positions of adjoining pieces.
 4. Building insulation comprising a strip of fibrous blanket and a facing sheet comprising a web of width greater than that of the fibrous blanket strip, the blanket strip being secured to the facing sheet in the mid region thereof, the web having a decorative pattern extended over the face of the facing sheet opposite to that on which the fibrous blanket strip is secured, the decorative pattern extending throughout an area between a line adjacent a first edge of the blanket strip and a line spaced outboard of the second edge of the blanket strip but said decorative pattern being terminated at said lines to leave strip edge areas at both edges of the web free of said decorative pattern, and indicia relating to use of the insulation, the indicia being located in both of said free areas, the outer portions of the edges of the facing sheet being folded under inner portions thereof to provide double thickness lips projecting beyond the edges of the fibrous blanket strip, the line of fold toward one edge of the web being located outboard of the indicia at that side and the line of fold toward the other edge of the web being located inboard of the indicia at that side, so that the indicia on one edge lip is visible at one face of the edge lip and the indicia on the other edge lip is visible at the other face of the lip.
 5. Building insulation as defined in claim 4 in which the line of fold toward the edge of the web on which the decorative pattern extends beyond the edge of the fibrous blanket strip is located within the area of the decorative pattern.
 6. Building insulation as defined in claim 4 in which the projecting lips also have fold creases along lines adjacent to both side edges of the fibrous blanket strip.
 7. Insulation for a living space of a building, comprising a strip of fibrous blanket having a vapor shield or barrier sheet secured to one face thereof, the barrier sheet having a decorative surface pattern on the exposed surface thereof and having edge lips projecting beyond the opposite edges of the fibrous blanket strip adapted to form overlapped joints with similar edge lips of adjoining pieces of such insulation, thereby providing for concurrent insultation, vapor shielding and decoration of the living space when the insulation is flush mounted on spaced supports with the barrier sheet presented toward the living space, the decorative surface pattern being made up of a multiplicity of pattern areas having random visual effect and said pattern areas being extended throughout the area of the barrier sheet overlying the fibrous blanket strip and overlying at least one of the edge lips so that the random visual effect of the pattern decoration will be continued over the overlapped joints of adjoining pieces of such insulation regardless of the relative positions of adjoining pieces.
 8. Insulation for a living space of a building, comprising a strip of fibrous blanket having a vapor shield or barrier sheet secured to one face thereof, the barrier sheet having a decorative surface pattern on the exposed surface thereof and having edge lips projecting beyond the opposite edges of the fibrous blanket strip adapted to form overlapped joints with similar edge lips of adjoining pieces of such insulation, thereby providing for concurrent insulation, vapor shielding and decoration of the living space when the insulation is flush mounted on spaced supports with the barrier sheet presented toward the living space, the decorative surface pattern being extended from the free edge of one edge lip over that lip and throughout the area of the barrier sheet overlying the fibrous blanket strip to a line adjacent the inner edge of the other edge lip and being terminated at said line to leave an area of the outer surface of said other edge lip free of said decorative pattern, and indicia providing instructions for the positioning of the barrier sheet with respect to the living space being insulated, shielded and decorated, said indicia being located on the pattern-free area of said other edge lip to provide for concealment of said indicia when adjoining pieces of the insulation are flush mounted on spaced supports with said one edge lip of one piece of the insulation overlapping the indicia bearing lip of said other edge lip of the adjoining piece of the insulation. 